Nyé Murano
by Drakendottir
Summary: Darth Vader comes back to Coruscant for a special, personal prisoner of his.  An old friend of Obi-Wan's past might be coming back to help with the arising turbulences of the future. This story takes place at the same time as the episodes IV-VI
1. Relic of the past

Hey guys,

I am completely new to this, so it would be great if some of you could read and review my story. Of course I hope you all enjoy it.

I also have to admit that I am no native English speaker, let alone writer, so any corrections on grammar, vocabulary, idioms etc. are most welcome! I am trying to learn, so don't spare me any criticism. Thanks to all of you!

Enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>1. Relic of the past<strong>

As Darth Vader entered the room, his black robes undulated behind him like the incorporation of a nightmare.

His sole presence made the room seem darker.

Buzzing instruments hung to the clinical clean walls of the room, some of them peeping, others flashing hectically or shining in a flickering red. Vader neared the scientist. Although his face was hidden behind the mask in the colour of darkest night, his wheezing, unchanging breath, created by a machine rather than his own lungs, gave an impression of impatience. The two men, dressed up in grey scrubs, bowed nervously.

"Lord Vader."

"You called for me, doctor?"

The older scientist nodded jerkily. "Excuse the disruption, Lord Vader, but you left orders that you were to be called back here on Coruscant in any case of irregularities."

"Aaaah." The Sith turned away from the man and crossed towards the electronically locked door. A wave of his hand, and it glided open hissing. White, icy damp wafted towards them. This room was furnished exactly like the other one, some tables with material for chemical or medical experiments and two huge XXXX, but its walls were kept all in black instead of white. Opposite to the door towered an onyx block of carbonite, a block of an impressing height that made even Vader himself look like a dwarf. The Sith crossed that room as well, stepping in front of the block that from afar equalled an irregular, massive black pillar. Light flashed up late, lightening the man and the carbonite monster. Out of the upper part of the block rose a chain that was secured at the room's ceiling.

"Finally." Vader touched the front of his opponent with his hands. "Twenty years are a long time, but I could wait. Now, finally, you are ready to die."

"Excuse me, Lord Vader, but she is not dying." The younger scientist came forward, before his colleague could stop him.

"Not?" Vader's voice sounded mechanically as ever, but nevertheless both men twitched anxiously, feeling his anger. "Why then have you called me here?"

"Lord Vader, her heartbeat shows certain irregularities. Well, there is no real heartbeat, of course, but there always was a sparkle of live left to scale. The last time she fluctuated this much was, according to the log files, when she was frozen. We trust the last bit of body warmth she carries in her started to melt the carbonite from the inside until it gave in. She might have reached a higher level of consciousness in her persisting sleep."

"So what?" The Sith lord did not seem to understand the meaning of that medical talk.

"We can't change anything about her state with the use of technic. The modification happens inside out. The most supposable outcome of it might be that she drifts away into madness as soon as she wakes enough to realize her own helplessness."

"And then she will die?"

"Sorry, Lord Vader, but that is not very likely. It is far more probable that she will lose consciousness forever. She then won't be a person anymore, but just a living, empty body."

Vader hesitated a moment, then turned back to fully look at the younger scientist for the first time since he had arrived. "So she won't be feeling any more pain?"

"No, presumably she won't. So shall we keep her that way?"

Darth Vader stared at the carbonite, silent until he had decided. "No, you won't escape me as easy as that." He hit the cold block with his fist. "You will live again, live and suffer, when you finally realize what you lost. Twenty years have passed; all your friends are dead now. Besides the petty little alliance there is no rebellion whatsoever remaining of your struggle. _You have failed_."

The young scientist of course could not tell, because technically the Sith's voice sounded the same all the time, but for an instant he might have bet to hear a malicious laughter.

"Unfreeze her, and lock her up. I wish to be called when you are ready."

With that Darth Vader swept back out, two anxious scientist shortly behind him, and the room turned as dark again as it had been before. The flashing of a myriad of small lights scampered over the glassy carbonite.


	2. Unfreezing

Hey guys,

I am completely new to this, so it would be great if some of you could read and review my story. Of course I hope you all enjoy it.

I also have to admit that I am no native English speaker, let alone writer, so any corrections on grammar, vocabulary, idioms etc. are most welcome! I am trying to learn, so don't spare me any criticism. Thanks to all of you!

Enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>2. Unfreezing<strong>

"Warm it further up, warm it up!" The old scientist waved furiously with his arms. "But cautiously, do it degree for degree!" Another drop of liquid carbonite ran over the now cockling onyx surface, rolled above a foreshadowed shoulder edge and splashed through the grid on which the block had been locked into position. More and more iron chain links came into sight, they showed up one after the other, bending and clanking when the next bit of the, now loose, chain glided onto the grid.

The block had already shrunk for about twenty centimetres (ca. eight inches) and the human figure in its mid glowed in regular intervals like a fluttering little breath. Her heart beat again, it had been beating for four or five minutes now, irregular and too fast, but it was beating. She was alive again.

"Call for Lord Vader!" The scientist's breath picked up the pace.

"I am here already." The dark presence of the Sith lord cooled the atmosphere in the room dramatically. "Is she ready?"

"Yes, Lord Vader. We finished with the pre-thawing and will now have to work faster. Her heart started to beat again." The doctor rubbed his hands in excitement. "This is a grand day for science, my Lord. Never before has anyone been frozen for such a long period. Twenty years, almost to the day! I am very curious, how she acquitted herself."

He stepped forward to the control desk, an almost demonical smile flitting over his face, taking the place of a younger doctor. "Now this – is going to hurt, my dear." He turned the temperature button, but other than the man before him he did not turn it in minimal, careful movements. With a single, determined action three hundred degrees of unbroken heat flashed down onto the carbonite block.

Glowing red, the material started to stretch, decolour to white and flake off in small bits and pieces.

The block now equalled a broken vase, under the surface of which a rose shimmer became visible.

Faster and faster the material fell off the human form. One could now see hands, held crosswise by the chain over the woman's breast. A torso, thighs. For a glimpse one could recognize a face – then the wispy female figure collapsed without a sound on the floor, with just the chain ringing.

The heat stopped all by itself and the scenario, glowing prior to this, suddenly seemed grey and damp.

The figure on the floor whimpered cramping, before relaxing to a feverish tremble.

A wave of the doctor's hand sent all other men out apart from two who stepped closer to lift the unconscious carefully onto a stretcher and take off her chain. Bare of emotion, Darth Vader's eyepieces looked over the human mass. Her almost beautiful, fragile face was very pale, twitching spasmodically, the eyes closed. Her hands were still crossed above her breast, her hair seemed wet and scruffy, almost grey.

She did not seem to observe any of her surroundings, but rather dream very vividly.

"She can't hear us." The doctor smiled coldly. "She is reliving her life for the second time just now, but in constantly changing order. Weak minds have been known to break in this part of the process."

Vader did not move his glance from the woman, who could not have been any more than a young girl twenty years past by the still juvenile looks of her unaged, yet somehow worn out face. She still looked not more than sixteen or seventeen years, but the seriousness of her expressions made her look mature nevertheless.

"She was never weak," he told the doctor sternly. "She is going to find herself again. Get her to a cell on board of my starcruiser. "

The doctor opened his mouth to object, but was shut up immediately when Darth Vader added mechanically: "I will take her with me when I visit our new battlestation. I waited twenty years for this, I've got time."

The scientist beckoned to two soldiers to come in, who helped him willingly to carry the still unconscious girl out of her prison of the last twenty years.


	3. Awakening

Hey guys,

I am completely new to this, so it would be great if some of you could read and review my story. Of course I hope you all enjoy it.

I also have to admit that I am no native English speaker, let alone writer, so any corrections on grammar, vocabulary, idioms etc. are most welcome! I am trying to learn, so don't spare me any criticism. Thanks to all of you!

Enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>3. Awakening<strong>_  
><em>

_She was a baby in her mother's womb. Red warmth, pressing constriction. Screams, far away. She was being born._

_Anakin held Padmé's hand while the priest was blessing the two of them. They kissed and the young girl – their only maid of honour besides two droids – felt her heart rise. If only she would be as happy as they were on the day of her marriage!_

_She was on board a starcruiser on the way to Coruscant. _

_Obi-Wan visited Padmé in her flat._

_The Jedi-Temple was burning._

The pictures that flashed over her mind started to change faster, more and more incoherent.

_A battle droid levelled its gun at her._

_Lightsabers buzzed up, hit each other with angry, humming noises. _

_Her sister left her to start her service for the senator. _

_C-3P0, talking to Padmé._

_Anakin and Obi-Wan. The chancellor and Padmé. The senate. The senator of Alderaan._

_Naboo's lake country._

_The queen of Naboo. _

Faster and faster, faster and faster the pictures changed, the emotions changed.

_Master Yoda. Master Windu._

They flashed up and vanished, before the girl could tell what she was seeing: A memory? The here and now? A dream?

All illusions. Just imaginations?

_A battle rampaged over Coruscant. A storm swept across Alderaan. Anakin, as a Padawan. As a bodyguard._

_Padmé, queen of Naboo. A wookie with an ammunition belt. What was happening here? Had she ever met a wookie?_

_Separatist droids fought agains clones. _

_Her mother kissed her on her forehead. Clones charged the Jedi temple. Obi-Wan as a fugitive. Her father, he took her into his arms, threw her upwards. Was that really her, with the cute brown braids? _

_She was smuggling information, working for the democracy's continuity. Her sister in the lake country. Herself on a swing, two years old. Darth Vader entering the flat. Where was Padmé? _

_Her father, crying at her mother's grave. A white room filled with flashing lights on instruments that were unknown to her. Glowing carbonite covered a screaming girl while people in white scrubs were watching her magnetized… no help… A lasergun in her hand, battledroids closing in on her. A process, they adjudged her guilt. Darkness. Cries, her mother was crying. Father's grave. Padmé's son, struggling in her arms. Senator Organa, he left her, a child on his arms… _

When had that happened? Were those really all her own memories? All her own?

_Obi-Wan smiled at her, she wanted to follow him… and was again at that process, trying to defend herself…_

Finally the turbulence had slowed down and even become more orderly. Then it suddenly just stopped.

She opened her eyes, but she could not see. Despite the maddening pain in every limp she dozed off, unable to move. She woke up two times, only to find the world a confusing chaos of dark schemes, growing clearer only slowly. It was the third time for her to wake up when she finally could make out her surroundings.

She was lying in a cool room on her back. The walls were grey and uniform. Carefully she based herself on her arms. At once the wrists started to hurt more than ever. She sat up, looking about the torn up areas of her skin, surrounding her wrists like red handcuffs. Where was she? What had happened? Confused she shook her head. _What_ had actually happened?


	4. The Sith Lord

Hey guys,

I am completely new to this, so it would be great if some of you could read and review my story. Of course I hope you all enjoy it.

I also have to admit that I am no native English speaker, let alone writer, so any corrections on grammar, vocabulary, idioms etc. are most welcome! I am trying to learn, so don't spare me any criticism. Thanks to all of you!

Enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>5. The Sith lord<strong>

The room was not only plain, it was bare. Absolutely empty. A cell, she concluded. _I am in a prison. Maybe on Coruscant. Maybe on a starcruiser._

Hissing, her cell door swished open. _Darth Vader_, she remembered with a shudder, _I recall him being shorter. He is even more imposing than the last time I saw him. _

"Nyé Murano." His mechanical voice made icy shudders run down her spine.

"Vader." She forced herself to answer his greeting that was none as calmly as possible.

Then she stared just back at him. Why was she here? What had happened?

The memories twitched through her like flashlights. The arrest. The process. A white room. Glowing carbonite…

Frozen alive. The Sith lord's mask stared down at her steadfastly.

"You have made a mistake, Vader," she stated coldly. "Freezing humans alive is illegal. Even in the galactic imperium there are laws you have to follow."

"Since you lost your conscience a great deal of time has passed." Vader's mechanical voice stayed conventional. "The imperator changed the laws as you are soon going to discover. He has broken the resistance and eliminated his enemies."

Something in her face froze.

Vader continued without emotion: "Oh yes, all of his enemies, his enemies and their families."

This stroke almost left her unconscious. The resistance broken. Her friends dead, their families eliminated… families that had been as innocent as infants. Dead. All of them. She had abandoned them.

When she finally looked back up, her voice was as bitter and cold as the hard carbonite that had kept her all that time and stopped her from doing her duty. "But then he has to have eliminated all the life in the Galaxy. What is his aim? Ruling a world of corpses?"

Vader stepped towards her, his mask staring into her eyes. Her throat became tight, unbelievably tight… Vader moved a finger – the force took her and darted her off the table she had been lying on. She still could not breathe… then the choking stopped as suddenly as it had begun. A warning, no more.

She managed to get her breath back to normal, and since he had not spoken yet, she could not stop provoking him further.

"You know, Vader, you ought to know better. After destroying everything I ever cared about – do you honestly believe that you will be able to frighten me with pain or threads to my life? You can never again hurt me as much as you just did." Her laughter was as bitter as she felt. She could taste blood on her lip, she had probably bitten herself… it tasted sweet and salty at the same time. Was it mixed up with tears? So she was crying, without feeling the tears running down her cheeks. The freezing process and the shock obviously had battered her even more than she had dared to fear.

Carefully she stood up, her legs trembling. Slowly she stepped towards him who was still watching her without a word, laid her head back until she could stare right up into the unfeeling, plain, sinister mask.

All her longing was to hurt him as much as he had hurt her, but she did not know how to. And then she knew what to ask him in order to make him suffer. Especially since the answer to that question was of deepest interest to herself.

"So, have you found any trace of Padmé? Or have you stopped searching for her after condemning me for her death?"

This time, Vader grabbed her neck physically, dashing her off with a scream of hatred and then towering up over her barely alive body.

"Padmé is dead, because you killed her, Nyé! It has been proven!"

He turned and rushed out of the door before she could find the strength to a teasing reply.

As he already had left, Nyé sat up and looked at the closed door through which he had vanished. "If she really is dead, Anakin, she died because you broke her heart. You betrayed all your ideals and, even worse, you betrayed her love!"


	5. Freedom

_Hello my faithful readers,_

_and sorry for that long delay! I am really sorry it took me so long to post the next chapters, but be assured, I really had a lot of stress in my everyday life (and still have). Also, the two new chapters (5 and 6) are longer than the ones before, and I hope to set myself a standart length-wise__ inbetween 1000 and 5000 words per chapter. Of course, the story is long not finished with those chapters, it is merely beginning. As most of what happens is already known from the movies, I tried to keep the copying of that as short as possible and focus more on Nyé's development. Soon, after the rebellion destroyed the Death Star as we all know will happen, I will get away from the setting of the movie more and more and develop a parallel story-line. Until then, I have to beg your forgiveness for being boring. _

_I hope you still have fun, please do comment critically, as I seek to improve both my writing and my English! (I liked the chapters better in German, but you probably would not understand, so I had to translate and change them for you.)_

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><p><strong>5. Freedom<strong>

Then she sat there, all alone in a dark, undersized cell. It occurred to her not even for a second whether she had been frozen for five weeks or five months. The difference had lost its significance to her. She was to be put to death sooner or later, and till then there was nothing left but to doze away in thoughts and memories. As everyone who had ever meant something to her was dead, there was no more need to agonize or fight on their behalf. The galaxy had turned into a devoted imperium without any resistance, therefore she would not be disturbed here no half-heartedly rescue missions and no company. Silence, peace, and someday an execution. The young woman abandoned any self-pity before it could emerge and wallowed in beautiful memories of golden days instead.

Had she laid there for days? Weeks? Hours?  
>Blasts hissed through the corridor in front of her cell, hitting the walls occasionally by the sound of it. If the imperium was peaceful and well-regulated, who then would break into a prison by force? This did not make any sense at all! Vader had told her...<p>

A tiny voice in her inner self cried out: _So what? He lied, he lied to you!_  
><em>I am simply too naive.<em> Ny grit her teeth, striking some lose strands of filthy hair off her forehead. The exchange of fire continued.  
>Involuntary, more driven by her instincts than by will, she kneeled next to the door, laying her ear against the cold metal. What in the name of the force was she doing?<p>

Old reflexes, that had to be it. Was she really relying on one of the blasts to hit the lock? What nonsense! Her rational side wanted to stand up, turn away and forget about the incident. She did not even think about calling for help. She was able to hear the blasts because the walls were being concussed. Vader's cellblocks for a sure thing were soundproof.

A small explosion blew the lock up. There were tiny splinters flying about the corridor for a certainty. Nyé tried to claw into the metal of the door with her fingernails, but of course without getting the door to open. Not even scratches were left where she had attacked it, instead her fingertips went bloody and her nails broke. Panting heavily, she stopped her senseless efforts to think for a moment. She was a technician, wasn't she? She had been made fun of by many of her friends because she studied technical finesses in the age of droids. But she herself had always thought that those practical little machines needed someone to attend to them as well. Besides, droids never disappointed or betrayed their masters as human beings did only too often. Some of those little machines had become her companions working together with her. Her human brain was able to see relations where the best droids failed. Instead, they often could accomplish a great many things Nyé could not do just like that. She sighed, remembering her last partner fondly. R2 and she had been quite the team!

But memories were not for the here and now, she ordered herself. Before the carbonite had frozen her, her belt buckle had still worked as a magnet. Hastily she stripped off the belt, moving an almost invisible switcher and - bull's eye! The tiny electromagnet was ready to go! As she put it to the door, she created a small, but nevertheless perfect handle. Pushing the sliding gate open was now a quite easy thing for her to do. She switched the magnet back off and put the belt on while moving already.

This corridor had for sure been the setting of a gunfight. There were no guards in sight right now, but there were blast holes everywhere. Almost all of the cells' locks had been wrecked, that much she could see even while rushing down the corridor. Well, now at least she remembered the reason for her instinctive reaction: those electronically locked doors could be opened by the strong ionic impulse of a laser-shot very easily, destroying the lock in the explosion. This was a method she of course had never seen in action, as it was usually quite easy to open them via switch anyway. Also the shot needed to go by really close; otherwise it would show no effect whatsoever. Before she could rejoice on her luck and the use she could finally draw of her technical knowledge, she heard steps, coming out of a direction that was supposedly the entrance to the cellblock, indicating soldiers coming closer.

Hectically Ny looked about. Was there no other exit? Cellblocks used to have only one regular way to the outside; of course, no one was supposed to get out just that easily. They had only _one_ exit - and - waste chutes!

Her gaze fell on one of those chutes, just twenty steps backwards. Whoever had entered the cellblocks without admission had taken that way for sure. The blast holes ended there. Other than that and the logical assumption that the way out would be already fought free there, it was the only chute she could see on the whole corridor.

She breathed through one more time and jumped right in, trying to ignore the abhorrent smell that engulfed her at once as she rolled off on a pile of rubbish. While she was still fighting back the urge to vomit right there and then, she was rewarded for her efforts: the escape hatch was wide open! Yes, the intruders had definitely taken this way out before her. She followed them as quickly as possible. Why not let them clear her way out?

As soon as she would have had exited the building, she would not be held back by neither clone nor battle droid. Thanks to her work for Padmé Amidala, she knew Coruscant's streets like the back of her own hand.

But as soon as she had left the garbage depot, hoping she would not be smelled by the guards from afar, she had to realize she was nowhere near Coruscant. In fact, she was not on a star cruiser either. When she finally found a corridor with windows to look out, she realized she was in bigger trouble than she had possibly imagined. They had moved her to a space station, and from the looks of it, it was as huge as a small moon. How fast might they have managed to build this thing, she wondered. How long do you need to build a space station like this? Should it have been a secret separatist project for a long time, not discovered by the Jedi? This was most unlikely! Therefore she had been frozen at least some months. Maybe even half a year. Quite long, all in all.

No time to stay standing here and stare out of a window. In a hurry, she decided what corridor to follow next. Anxious, almost panicking, her blood started to circulate faster. But her fear at least slowed the rush of her thoughts down a little for now. There would hopefully be time to answer questions later.

The most important thing for now was to disappear unchallenged. She needed to get away of Darth Vader, afterwards she would be able to travel to Coruscant, or Naboo, to Alderaan or even to some rugged Outer-Rim Planet, even to Tatooine if she cared to. She tried to figure out her directions while walking, but it was no good. Doping out this sort of stuff was droid s work. How was she supposed to find the hangar?

_Straight ahead_, she decided, _just move straight ahead._ _Following these outer corridors will take you to a hanger sooner or later._ The dimensions of this space station were even larger than she had feared and far more confusing than she had dared to imagine. One could really get lost

_WUMM._ A red blast detonated exactly next to her head. Startled, Nyé turned around, noticing the two clone soldiers that had discovered her, and ran in the opposite direction. Using the next side corridor she managed to get out of the line of fire for the next few seconds. Behind her, red sparks pinged through the air, detonating at the walls, the ceiling and the floor. Gasping, Nyé hasted further on, taking another turn, and another, further on, further...

She wasn't alone any longer. Out of the corridor she had just rushed into, two humans ran towards her in equal hurry. They were young, only slightly older than herself: a young woman whose brown hair had been curled to snails above her ears, and a lad who, according to his garment, came from some farming region of the Outer Rim. They noticed Nyé at the same moment, stupefying shortly. And then, just behind them, soldiers entered the corridor, exactly as behind herself! Nyé broke adrift of that odd moment and stormed towards them, just like they did. A tiny, slim corridor opened up to her left, leading further into the inner chaos of the station. Without thinking twice, Nyé took that only escape out of their dangerous situation, reaching it first. She could hear the others following up directly behind her. They reached the next hall, an empty vault more likely, with stairs leading from it in all directions up- and downwards. Confused, Ny stopped for a moment. "Hurry, this way!" The boy at once dragged his friend with him, waving to her. Nyé did not stop to talk, but nodded and followed on as fast as her tired feet would lead her. Hopefully those two knew where they were going...

Panting, they stopped on the lower level, the boy turning to the right and leading them on. "This way we should be able to reach the hangar." The girls followed him closely.

"Oh, before I forget it - I'm called Nyé." Somehow she felt she could trust them. If not them, who else? The lad turned around, smiling, as they reduced their step to a normal pace in order to make less noise.

"Luke Skywalker. And this is Leia." Nyé noticed full well that he did not tell her the last name of the young woman, just as she had held back her own. "Are the two of you siblings?"

Leia did not look happy about that thought at all.

"Why, do we look like it?" Luke just shook his head, but gave Ny yet another smile.

They turned left, almost rushing into two more figures. Nyé recognized a man, about twenty-eight years old, and a colossal, red-haired wookie wearing a cartridge belt. The memory-flash of her dream came back to her mind: the wookie looked very similar to the one she could _not_ remember, yet dreamt of, and therefore had most likely met someplace before.  
>"Don't be afraid, he won't harm you."Luke motioned her over, ignoring the doubtful lift of his companion's eyebrow.<p>

The older man, after having gazed Nyé all over, just asked: "What kept you?"

"We outran some old friends", murmured Leia hastily. She was still a bit out of breath because of the previous haste.

"What are we still waiting for then?" The younger one of the men fluttered, obviously nervous. His friend, the one Nyé did not know the name of, took Leia's elbow without another word, dragging her with him, while the wookie waved with his gun and bellowed something encouraging in Nyé's direction. She just nodded again, passing him and staying close to the three other humans. Two more turns, and then Nyé could see straight into the hangar. It was one floor underneath, behind a huge glass screen.

The older man sighed relieved. "There she is."

Luke took out his comlink and pressed the send button. "C-3PO, do you copy?" The answer sounded tinny, a synthetic voice. _Droids, and by the number, I know at least one of them._

"Yes, sir." - "Are you safe?" - "For the moment. We're in the main hangar, across from the ship."

Luke smiled, his anxiety mixing with relief as well. "We're right above you. Stand by."

Nyé recognized a small space ship that looked more like a collection of junk than anything flyable. But as a technician she already figured that the pilot had just repaired it on his own all the time, probably leaving it with far more extras than a new ship could have had. Looking at it, she was almost sure it would make some speed. Probably even more than simple light-speed.

Leia, however, did not seem to share her opinion. "You came in that thing? You re braver than I thought."

The pilot did not take her teasing lightly. Sarcastically, he grumbled: "Nice!" before he ordered them all: "Come on!"

They hurried down to the next hangar level, where they could all see something else apart from their ship and that was a group of storm troopers guarding it.

The man she had labelled with pilot in her mind groaned in disgust. "Didn't we just leave this party?" He then turned to face all of them, giving them expecting glances. "Anyone a plan how we get past those friends of yours?" Luke, Leia and the Wookie shook their heads, at once starting to wonder in order to make up a way to escape.

Nyé suddenly got the strange feeling that their escape was very important. There was something about them that told her they had spirit, the will to fight for more than just their lives. There was a bigger cause behind all this, and she was no longer part of it. His gaze still rested on her, as she started to talk, hesitantly still, but nonetheless determined. "If if I could get their attention, distract them for a short while, do you think you could make it out before they notice you?"

She still was not sure herself why she made that offer, perhaps because in her mind, she had already finished off her own life only some dreams past. "Just promise me you will end that galactic empire for me and re-erect the republic, alright?" Her fragile little smile was meant to seem ironic, yet she felt the full seriousness behind it. She was already stepping out of the corridor in order to distract the guards for those vital few seconds.

Leia made the decision for her, taking Nyé's hand resolutely in her own. "The rebellion is in need of people like you. But not like this."

Luke nodded forcefully. "Exactly, stop that bullshit. That might help us escape, but you'd be dead. We will find a solution for all of us, at least I hope that. Is the ship alright?"

"Seems okay, if we can get to it. Just hope the old man got the tractor beam out of commission." The pilot answered without thinking twice.

"What old man?" Nyé never received an answer to that question, they obviously were too focused on how to get pass these new enemies without being caught. As they were still hesitating, the clones suddenly started to move away all by themselves.

"We we seem to be more than just lucky here..." Nyé did not trust this opportunity at all.

"That's our chance, come on!" urged the pilot, and they all ran across the open space of the hangar towards the unusual space ship, when Luke suddenly stopped to look where the clones had gone.

"Ben?" Although her instincts told her to just run off with the other three, Nyé stopped right next to him and turned her gaze the same direction. Darth Vader was battling an old Jedi. The girl was sure she had never seen this particular Jedi before, but something about him was oddly familiar. Luke s repeated shouting of the Jedi s name paid off badly as the clones turned their attention back to them and at once opened their fire. Nyé had long stopped to worry or wonder, she just reacted, taking Luke s arm; she tried to drag him away to the safety of the ship. The Jedi was already as good as dead; there was no sense in getting them killed out of compassion or mourning, regardless of how dearly a friend he might be. Behind them, Leia and the pilot were shouting at them to hurry up, to get the hell moving. And then it happened. One of the blasts hit her, toppling her over and causing a burning pain in her left arm. She struggled, but got up as fast as she could, forgetting about Luke. Instead she just took a run for the ship, trying to stop the bleeding with a strong grip on the wound. As she reached Leia and the pilot she turned back to look at the Jedi. She could not recall him, but something, something about him he turned his head, faced them, and a crooked smile appeared on his face as he lifted his lightsaber to a final salute in their direction. She could not help but stare at him, as he was immediately cut to half by Darth Vader.

Although she still did not remember where she might have seen him before, Nyé gasped in horror. Vader's red blade seemed to have cut right through her inner self instead of the Jedi. She felt a hurt she had experienced only a few dreams past, the hurt of losing a dear friend. Instead of gliding to the floor in a bloody mess, the Jedi just vanished into thin air. Luke, after screaming out in pain and anger, finally realized he was still being shot at, answering the clones fire. He looked as if he was sleepwalking, cut off of reality.

"Blast the door, kid!" Luke and Leia were still shouting at their friend in turns, to blast the door in front of the now approaching Darth Vader, to come on, to join them and safety. Luke had at least heard that last command; he shot the control of the blast door, and then finally turned around to enter the ship with them.

"Come on!" Nyé's voice almost cracked. As soon as he had reached the hatch, she started closing it, realizing that the wookie, Leia and the pilot had already rushed further on towards the cockpit.

"Let's hope the old man got the tractor beam out of commission, otherwise this will be a real short flight!" With this shout, the pilot reached his cockpit and sat down, starting all engines. Lights flashed on and the ship turned elegantly around its own axis, shot out of the hangar, away from the space station, away from Vader. Pale as a corpse, Ny slumped down, too confused and exhausted and relieved to wonder any more.


	6. Truth and pain

**6. Truth and pain**

Luke sat at the table, staring at the table-top while he drew thin lines on it with his finger, obviously not taking in anything that happened around him. Leia was the one to step behind him with a blanket, laying it over his shoulders in order to give him some comfort. "You could not have done anything else" she murmured softly, "it all happened too fast."

Luke drew some more lines, his eyes seemed to watch something in a far, far distance. "I just can't believe that he is dead", his voice creaked toneless, and Nyé had trouble understanding him properly as he repeated, "I just can't."

As the pilot approached their silent group, Nyé figured that he must have handed the steering to the wookie. "Come on, Luke. It's not over yet." The addressed showed no reaction, but Leia shot a loathing gaze at the pilot. "Leave him alone! Can't you see how much the old man meant to him?"

Nyé had watched them with slight interest up till now, she had even found the strength in her legs to lift herself up on her own feet, as an intense blow on the ship swept her off her feet again.

The pilot struggled as well, but he managed to hold himself steady. "So what? The old man gave up his life so that we could get away. Do you want to pass that on, Luke? Do you want Kenobi to have given his life in vain?"

Nyé's heart stopped for a beat there, only to restart at a much faster pace. This last name could of course only be a coincidence, but all of this was about a Jedi. Ben Kenobi. Maybe a relative of Obi-Wan's? She could not remember ever hearing of such a person. This grew more and more mysterious.

Luke, to her and Leia's surprise, stood up and had himself shown towards a slim tube, crawling into it without hesitation. Maybe there were even some larger blasters on board this ship?

Nyé concentrated and remembered making out at least one cannon from the outside. The pilot disappeared into one very similar tube, leaving the girls on their own. Leia and Nyé did not need to talk this through, both of them at once hurried back to the cockpit to assist the wookie in his efforts of flying the ship. Leia did a good job as co-pilot, so Nyé just stood behind her and let her do the work. She felt useless and displaced, but that could change, as soon as…

"There they are!" Leia shouted, pointing at the console, where two small lights had lit up, just two points, closing in on them with deadly speed. Two more joined them almost immidiately.

"Fighters." Nyé managed to say the word calmly, more a diagnosis than a warning. "Four fighters. Careful there, Luke, one's closing in on you… also at the other one's."

Luke's friend snarled into his speaker phone. "The name's Han Solo." – "Pleased to meet you. Nyé Murano."

The firefight between the four ships wore on, with Nyé losing the overview to the growing pain in her left arm, where the blaster had hit her, that took her concentration off the monitors too much. She sucked it up, turning around and rushing to help the two droids, who tried to extinguish some flames that had been lit by an aggressive hit.

Finally, the last adversary fighter vanished in a colourful explosion and Leia hugged the wookie rejoicing, who snarled at her – only very – silently.

As Han and Luke joined them in the cockpit to calculate the coordinates for the jump to lightspeed, Nyé managed to slip out on them without anyone noticing. Although some triumph over that last victory, she did not feel like celebrating. Back in the cockpit she could still listen to Leia and Han, having an acid-tongued crosstalk, while Luke and the wookie Chewiebacca, who was shortly called Chewie, played a game at the table, only a few feet next to her.

Most of her interest was now in the droids, especially the R2-unit, that looked a bit wrecked, but still as familiar as she had hoped it to. "What are you called?" she asked in a friendly tone, as she remembered full well that some droids were able to differentiate between human sounds. "I'm just asking because some time past I used to know a pair of droids, very similar to the two of you. Strange coincidence, isn't it? The combination of an android and a astromech droid is rather uncommon after all."

The golden android bowed stiffly, and said the few words she had praid for secretly. "My name is C-3PO", he told her with his tinny voice, "human-cyborg relations, at your service, mam, and this is…"

"3PO? Why didn't you say anything? I bet you did not find a new partner all this sudden, eh?" Grinning, Nyé bended the knee to study the small droid who had for such a long time been Padmé's and later, during the war, Anakin's property – and her responsibility to repair after many a fight. "R2D2, I must say, you seem to lack maintenance for some time! And you're not half as happy to meet me again as I'd have imagined…" The small, bolt-shaped droid wheezed with confusion.

"Mam, I am truly sorry, but R2 says that…" Nyé frowned. "Stop calling me that, 3PO. I understood him fully, as you know perfectly well." – "Excuse me, mam, but – no, I don't." Nyé's frown grew deep enough to make her realize that her skin had started to prickle all over as if it were dying off.

But this was not the time to worry about cosmetic irregularities. "What do you mean, you don't? 3PO, after all the three of as have been through together…" – "… been through together?" C-3PO actually started to stutter, a delicate little modification she had once implanted into his circuits herself in order to make him seem more human. R2D2, on the other hand, started to whistle and wheeze in maddening fast pace.

But all she could do to answer him was shake her head. "They must have erased your memories, am I right? That's why you don't recognize me anymore." She could herself hear the bitterness in her voice. "I guess I have to be thankful they did not disassemble you, as they were at it, too."

3PO got over the confusion that had stricken his so carefully programmed "brain". "My memory files have not been erased for the last twenty years, mam, and according to my modification on human age determination, that must have been before you were even born. With all due respect, you have to be confusing us with someone else, mam." The shock of that statement hit her as if he had fired a broadside at her. Numbly, she investigated further on. "But… I mean, you must remember the Senator Amidala! Padmé Amidala!" R2 gleamed blue, 3PO on the other hand started a real answer. "I have never heard this name befo…" – "Anakin Skywalker?" 3PO shook his head in a fainthearted effort to stop her now feverish questions, giving him an almost human appearance in his helplessness. "Or… Obi-Wan Kenobi?" Nyé's voice was not much more than a whisper, as if she did not expect any positive answer anyway.

R2 meanwhile started to wheeze again, with 3PO chatting at the same time. "But of course we remember Master Kenobi, he was R2's occupant and we were supposed to fly to Alderaan with hi…" Nyé reached out defensively, to shut up 3PO's far slower response. Now she was fully able to concentrate on R2's shrill whistles. "What do you mean, he is dead?"

Luke had stopped talking to the wookie quite a while ago, yet she had not noticed that in her feverish attempts to find out the truth about her two long-lost droid friends.

"Ben is dead, yes." Luke summoned it up quietly. "But why does that confuse you? You were there, you saw… You saw him…" He did not speak it out fully, so she narrowed her eyes at him. "I do not care for Ben Kenobi, no offence, I am talking about Obi-Wan Kenobi here, the Jedi-Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. Do you know if he was somehow related to your Ben Kenobi?"

Luke stared at her, suspiciously. "Are you saying you did not recognize him earlier? Ben or Obi-Wan, it is really just a name. I knew him as Ben, but he told me he was called Obi-Wan. Only that that was twenty years ago."

Nyé touched her temple, reaching out for the wall in order to steady her sudden tremble. To hear it from him, a human, made it far realer than out of the metal circuits of a droid. "That… is… not possible." She whispered, afraid that she might faint of that new shock. "How might he have aged that far? You must have met a deceiver. Kenobi would never have lied about such a thing…" – "He did not lie, I am sure of it."

"Twenty years, that is just ridiculous!"

Luke shrugged, not getting anything. "Enough of Ben… who are you? You say you know Ben and don't recognize him, you say you know the droids, but they don't recognize you… Who ARE you?"

Nyé had to slide over in order to sit up straight against the wall, as all her surroundings started to spin around her. Faintly, more for herself than for him, she recited what she thought to remember, as if to ensure herself she had not gone mad, she as still herself, and all this was just a bit misunderstanding.

"My name is Nyé Murano. I was born on Naboo one year before the Great ReSynchronisation, and have worked for the Senator Padmé Amidala since the first year of the Clone Wars, namely the year 13 after the Great ReSynchronization. I…" Luke had snapped his eyes open and cut her off. "The Clone Wars have been over for almost two decades." Nyé finally realized what had happened, she realized the cruel reality and all it meant for her life, her friends from the past. It meant that her former life was nothing more than exactly that, the past, a time long gone, never to return.

"Two decades." Monotonic, she repeated his words. "That is just… too long."

"Too long for what?" Luke did not give in so easily, and she understood she had to give him, give all of them, and explanation, and soon.

"Darth Vader… he… imprisoned me. He did it after the fall of the republic. I was part of the resistance against the new empire. I thought that it had only been a few months, but I was wrong. In the name of the force, I had no idea…" Involuntarily she led out a sob, suppressing it at once, but of course the boy had heard it alright. Hastily she stood up, and although she staggered because of the sudden movement and the on-going shock, she managed to get out of the chamber, murmuring "I… I have to tend to that arm of mine" as a lame excuse.

Luke stared after her for a long moment. "Maybe the princess should be asked to talk to her. She seems to be pretty – messed up in her mind. I wonder what kind of torture they did to her to break her like that…"


	7. Nothing left to lose

Hej guys,

long story short, I'm back.

[whining, apologizing and promising]

I know, I know, I know. I'm awfull, and I'm terribly sorry this story didn't continue for so long. In fact, it did continue... but only on paper, so you guys had no opportunity to read it. The problem was (is) that my real life sucks big time, I have a lot of stress and don't get to write as often as I wish to. And when - if - I got to write this story further on, I mostly did it in German (up till the first scenes from ep. V) which means, I have to translate everything before I can post it. That's stupid, I know. I'll try to just write in English from now on, saving me the translating time, hopefully improving my English and saving you guys any more long waiting times. I hope I can get more of this story out now, that I finally got it together again and managed to find my manuscript over the next few chapters. If I start make you guys wait too long again, kick my ass via pm. I don't mind, seriously :P

[/whining, apologizing and promising]

So on we go. I had to read everything again, so I can feel with you guys who probably don't remember it as well. I hope you enjoy yourselves nevertheless. I did when I pulled these pages back out and translated them, changing half of the story as I did so. It was fun to write and hopefully reads fun as well ;). And with that, I finally stop talking and start posting again...

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><p><strong>7. Nothing left to lose<strong>

As Luke finally reached the cockpit, he at once noticed the strange tension between Han Solo and the rescued princess. The way the two of them looked at each other, there had just been a heated discussion of some sort, or even worse, an argument. Before Luke could do as much as ask Leia for her help concerning their strange new friend, she had stood up and turned to him, snapping: "Your friend is quite a mercenary. I wonder if he really cares about anything...or anyone!" Luke opened his mouth, assuring her that _he_ in fact did care – but she had already rushed off.

Somehow Luke got the feeling that it might not be too wise to go after her and ask her for help just now, but he felt stupid just standing in the doorway. So he sat down on Leia's abandoned seat and turned to Han. "So… what do you think of her, Han?" Luke had asked the question before he even realised that he didn't know which one of their mysterious female passengers he was talking about. Sure, Leia was a handful, she was ultimately beautiful and just… she was Leia. But there was this weird other girl they had picked up, that girl who strangely knew the droids – or at least claimed she knew them. A girl, who claimed to have been part of the first resistance against Vader, over twenty years past. In short: a girl who was downright crazy.

"I'm trying not to, kid!" Han's response caught Luke by surprise, but it also took all his thoughts away from Nyé and focussed them back on Leia. Han tried not to think of the princess… that was, "… good." Had he just said that out loud? _Ooops._ Thankfully, Han seemingly hadn't noticed Luke's ill-considered comment. "Still, she's got a lot of spirit. I don't know, what do you think? Do you think a princess and a guy like me..." Han's voice trailed off, but therefore Luke's thoughts concluded where this was headed only the better. No, Han did not – Han could not… It wasn't fair! "No!" His answer had come out far more forceful than he had meant it to. Promptly, Han grinned to himself like the scoundrel captain that he was, amused by the boy on his side.

* * *

><p>Nyé's inside felt like a pile of all her illusions and hopes dashed to shivers. She had sunk to her knees in front of the first-aid kit, but just after she had taken out a bandage in order to tend to her wound, her attention broke and she just sat there, staring at the kit – or, rather, staring right through it.<p>

She was back at Naboo, back at that moment that she had not seen when she woke up, but that she remembered now. It was the answer to a question she had posed to Vader in order to hurt him, an answer that she knew better than him – or ought to have known, ought to have remembered.

_It was already getting dark as they formed a procession behind the open coffin, following it to put _her_ to her last rest. Even in death, she was still the most beautiful woman Nyé had ever seen… her best, her only true friend. 'I would have died a thousand times to save you,' she realized, but it was too late. Too late to do anything about it. Padmé was dead. Senator Amidala was no more._

Nyé pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes, rocking back and forth in agony. No, no, that wasn't true. That had never happened. At least she hadn't been there.

_But it feels so real – the images in front of my eyes… they look so real._

What was this? Was she losing her mind? What was happening to her?! Again and again, she could hear _his_ voice in her head. _"Padmé is dead, because you killed her, Nyé! It has been proven!"_

"No, no, no…" She whispered it, again and again, clinging to that one syllable as if it would turn everything back to normal, as if it might make things good again; bring her friends back to life. _How, how did all of this happen? Why can't I remember, why do I keep remembering things I know didn't happen to me? Or, did they? How can I know the difference? Am I going crazy?_

She hurt so bad that the physical affliction after being thawed up, like the intense itching of her skin or the sudden, incontrollable muscle cramps – were blanked out almost completely. She didn't hear Leia approaching, but then the princess suddenly stood right behind her. "I've wondered for quite a while, why Vader might have frozen you like this", Leia finally murmured full of commiseration, "whichever cruel vagary might have driven him to do it. I think that he doesn't even begin to understand the kind of torture he has actually put you through." She took the bandage out of Nyé's pale, feeble hand and started patching her up temporarily.

As Nyé heard her voice, she came to her senses slowly and turned towards the princess with trembling lips. "I thought, that it was like… five months. But in reality…" – "I know." Leia interrupted her before she could even say it out loud. "He showed you to me, shortly after they had taken me captive. I figure it was in order to torment me, make me talk for fear of being treated the same way. But I knew that this wasn't a fate he'd choose for me." – "Why is that?"

Leia sighed, tying up the bandage without a word. Nyé just waited for her reply, so the two girls kneeled close to each other silently, before Leia was finally done and their eyes met for a long look. "I just… knew it," Leia finally replied. "It was like… one carbonite sculpture being horrid enough even for a man like him, you know?" Nyé wasn't quite contended with that answer and by the look in the other woman's eyes, neither was Leia herself. Nevertheless, the seventeen (or thirty-seven?) year-old technician tried to force a smile on her face. She only succeeded half-way, her superimposed gaiety looking effectively askew and artificial.

"But aside of that, you are fine?" For a moment, Nyé was unsure if Leia was talking about her arm injury, or the even deeper, psychological problem. Then she realized, that Leia was talking about the emotional damage, at worst; there was no way she knew of Nyé's feared psychological derangement. "I mean, you don't have any… grave physical damage?" This time, Nyé managed an actual smile, although it was just a bitter one. "My body is fine, considering. I guess I'm quite… healthy." She avoided the word 'sane' for a reason only apparent to herself and was relieved to notice that Leia's smile was free of any suspicion, just comforting and encouraging. "You will find new friends, get a new life together. Vader hasn't won just yet. He wanted to break you, but you're still yourself. He didn't succeed, with neither of us. He hasn't succeeded with anything."

Someone called Leia from the direction of the cockpit, and the princess got up and hurried outside. Nyé looked after her, waiting until the other one was well out of hearing range before her lips silently formed her response. She didn't have to sound it; it was more a statement to herself than a real response to Leia's encouraging speech. _To the contrary, he has won a comprehensive victory. I am broken, in a way no other human being can imagine._

She closed her eyes again, wanting to coil herself up and never speak to anyone again. Just lie here… lie here, engulfing the pain and itching and the heartache, and die pathetically.

* * *

><p>How long had she just kneeled there, full of self-pity and agony? She couldn't tell when, but she realized the sound of the voices coming from the cockpit. It sounded like fighting, and in sudden alarm, she raised her head. Why did this alarm her so much? What did she care for their problems, for their strife? What did she have to do with any of this?<p>

The simple answer that came to mind was: Nothing. She was out of this game, for good. But she couldn't just let it go, so she got up on her shaking legs, walking towards the cockpit. She felt as if there was still a spark left inside her, a little light… a craving. She wanted revenge. She hated Vader for what he had done to her, to her friends; for what he had done to the Galaxy. He deserved to die, and she would make it so – even if it was the last thing she did.

_How_, a frantic little voice in her head asked. _How by the force are you going to accomplish that? He is a Jedi – worse, he is a Sith, no less! And who are you? Just some technician! You wouldn't even stand a chance against him if he was fast asleep! _

_True_, she answered that little voice coldly. _He is a Sith, he is so many things. But he has a major weakness, too. His joints, his body… his very lungs. He is half machine, half human – and if there is one thing I'm good with, it's machines._ The little voice couldn't just let it go. _He'll kill you. Haven't you suffered enough already? _She sighed. Yes, she had suffered. She had died, not in the normal sense, but in some sense she actually had died. She didn't want to go through that again... but then she realized that last time had been different. At the trial, she had had something to lose, she had been weakened, weighed down by love and compassion. _That is over now._ She was prepared to die, there was nothing left he could possible threaten of frighten her with, nothing he could take away from her but her life. In the past, she had valued that highly; but now? Now she just didn't care any more. If someone wanted her dead, they might just as well get on with it. But there was one thing she wanted to achieve, one last job she had to do. She would find Anakin, and then she would end him.

Despite her shaking legs, she made it to her fellow fugitives, who were in a heated discussion about the best way to shut off a certain set of cables that had somehow managed to get burnt and had melted down during their escape, now emitting sparks at random. Leia had managed to get all heated up over this, while Han probably knew what he was doing anyway. Or so he claimed, at least. All the two of them were doing now was just standing there. Han gesticulated around wildly with a multitool.

"Need a hand with that?" Without waiting for any response, she just took the tool out of Han's hand and started working on the cables herself, breaking of the bickering and teasing of Leia and the pilot by doing so. "Hey – you can't just…" Han looked at her open-mouthed, obviously taken aback by her daring to change anything at his ship.

Nyé didn't respond for several seconds, while her fingers quickly found the problem – without being hit by sparks, of course – and decoupled the whole section, thusly minimizing the danger of another fire inside the ship. "Seems I just did," she said, as she tossed the tool back to Han. "You should check this out after we landed." Han looked offended even by the proposition. "Of course I was going to…"

Nyé realized that she had just taken Leia's place. If she chose to, she could have an argument about whether he had or had not planned to look into the damage as soon as they landed for the entire rest of the journey. As it happened, she didn't want to, as tempting as the thought might have been if she had all her senses together and was utterly bored. "You most certainly were," she agreed to Han's statement, in a tone that had only a slight little hint of sarcasm in it. Before he could realize that and snap at her, she continued: "I was just going to say, I'll take a nap, would be great if someone woke me up before we're there." Where ever 'there' actually was. She would be with the rebellion, and that counted.

She had a new goal and nothing left to lose. Now was the time to get her strength back together and then… strike, strike fast and hard.


End file.
